


The Midnight Snack

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Thicker than Water [17]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Family, Friendship, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-08
Updated: 2014-10-08
Packaged: 2018-02-20 08:22:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2421779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Morgan told me his mom used to tell him that when the Lord closes a door somewhere he opens a window.  Then they said it in <i>The Sound of Music</i> so it must be true.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Midnight Snack

**Author's Note:**

> This story is written in the **Thicker than Water** universe. It was written for the alphabet writing meme and [](http://kosmickway.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://kosmickway.livejournal.com/)**kosmickway** ’s prompt of **I is for ice cream**.

Erin walked into the kitchen and turned on the lights. She went straight over to the freezer, opened it, and looked inside. It had been a long night. She didn’t know what she was thinking when she agreed to it. Dave seemed so excited about it; she didn’t want to kill his joy.

She’d probably done that many times but he would never tell her. He wanted the kids to stay over for the whole weekend. All Erin could think was ‘no, no, no, hell no’. Somehow she managed to squeak out an OK. The smile on Dave’s face made her smile but she didn’t know how she was going to get through it.

Dave picked the three of them, JJ, Spencer, and Penelope, up from school on Friday afternoon. They hung out at home doing what was described as fun stuff until Erin got home at seven. When she got home, Dave ordered pizza for dinner. He also told her that her lampshade had been broken while he and Penelope were playing. He said it was his fault.

“David, that’s a $900 lampshade from Tiffany.” She said.

“Baby, I know but…”

“Please tell your friend Tiffany I’m so sorry.” Penelope replied.

“I don’t think Tiffany’s a person, PG.” JJ said. “I think she means the place, like in the Deep Blue Something song.”

“Or you know, the classic film with Audrey Hepburn.” Dave said with a grin.

“OK, tell them I'm sorry too.” her big brown eyes were sad. “I didn’t mean to break it. Uncle Dave said it would be OK. Is it OK, Erin?”

“Its fine.” Erin managed to say. She didn’t know whether to burst into tears or start yelling. She didn't want to do either in front of the children. So she just poured a very liberal glass of wine and went upstairs.

“Aren't you gonna have pizza with us, Erin?” Dave asked.

“I'm not hungry right now…you guys have fun.”

Why in the world had she agreed to this? Hours later and she still couldn’t figure it out. While she curled up in bed with a good book, Dave and the kids watched _The Pirate Movie_ and then _Terminator 2: Judgment Day_. She didn’t know if that was a good movie for kids but they seemed to enjoy themselves. She could hear them and Dave too, laughing.

She could hear them talking about explosions and guns (that was mostly JJ) and scientific things that took the fun right out of the movie (that was mostly Spencer). Penelope just oohed and aahed. A part of her wanted to join them but wasn’t sure how. So she stayed in bed reading _Kiss the Girls_. The book must have pulled her attention because the next thing Erin knew, Dave was coming into the bedroom.

“They're asleep.” He said.

“Where?”

“I put them in the guest room. JJ and Penelope are in the bed while Spencer is on the air mattress. The kid weighs about 15 pounds so he doesn’t put much of a dent in it.” Dave sat at the bottom of the bed. He started to undress. “You were missed this evening.”

“I'm sure I wasn’t.” Erin turned a page.

“Don’t be so sure. It kinda made the kids uncomfortable, Erin…they think you don’t want them here.”

“Well don’t make me out to be the bad guy.”

“I'm doing nothing of the sort.” He sighed. “What's the matter? You agreed to this.”

“How would it have looked if I said no, David?” She asked.

“It would’ve looked like the truth, if it is. I just thought it would be a good idea for the kids to spend some time apart. Also, the little ones need space; it’s hard for them to live in an apartment. I'm sure it makes you uncomfortable, kids aren’t quite your thing and I get that but…they don’t bite.”

“I didn’t say they did. David, just…” she sighed. “I don’t know what to do around kids. Those kids in particular make me nervous. JJ hates me; I think she hates everything. Spencer speaks in a language I barely understand. And Penelope…I don't know, she’s almost normal but I still don't know what to say to her.”

“I'm taking them to the Dinosaur Museum tomorrow.” Dave said. “I would like for you to come with us and have some fun. Please, if it’s too much just say no. But if you want to give it a go then let me know.” He leaned over to kiss her. “I'm gonna take a shower.”

Erin nodded, watching him go. She didn’t want to go to the museum tomorrow. She was actually considering going into the office and getting some things done. But this was something she probably needed to do too.

She never really considered these kids family and maybe that was wrong. Jason clearly loved them and she loved him more than anything. Dave was falling for them too. After years of being on the outside, helping here and there, he wanted to do more. He wanted to be a part of their lives and have them be a part of his.

Erin wasn’t going to be able to stand on the outside alone. Well, she could but it would eventually cause a rift between her and Dave…she couldn’t let that happen. A few weekends here and there wouldn’t be too hard, would it? All she needed to do was hide all the expensive, breakable things.

She’d thought about it for a few hours and was no closer to an answer. Erin didn’t let Dave make love to her, she didn’t want the kids to hear, and soon enough he was asleep. That’s when she slipped out of bed and headed down for some ice cream. Ice cream helped her think. It also kept Erin up on her exercise rituals.

In the freezer she had the choice between butter pecan, French vanilla, Haagen Dazs dulce de leche, and rainbow sherbet. Erin saw something move across the floor out of the corner of her eye. For a moment, she froze in fear. Then she turned and looked. Penelope was crawling across the floor; looked as if she was trying to get away. Erin cleared her throat.

“Penelope?”

“Huh?” She dropped the book she was carrying between her teeth. Initially in the crawl position, she lowered herself so that she was sitting on her feet. Then she turned slowly in Erin’s direction like the cat that ate the canary.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing? You're crawling out of the kitchen at close to one in the morning but you tell me you're doing nothing.”

“I was reading.” She held up the book, _Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing_.

“Under the kitchen table?” Erin asked.

“It’s my secret clubhouse…at least it is at home. No one is allowed to come in and bother me when I'm in the secret clubhouse. I didn’t want to wake JJ and Spencer.”

“The kitchen table is your secret clubhouse?”

“Mmm hmm.” She nodded. “It’s my place. I read there all the time, play with my toys, do my thing. Know what I mean?”

“I actually do. Shouldn’t you be asleep?”

“I don’t sleep so well in strange places. No offense.”

“None taken. Why don’t you stand up? Would you like some ice cream?”

“Sure!” she perked up. “What kind?”

Erin ticked off the flavors and Penelope picked French vanilla. She didn’t want that kind; she went for dulce de leche. Grabbing two bowls from the cabinet, Erin got two scoops for Penelope and three scoops for herself. Then she put them on the table.

Penelope just stood in the middle of the floor. She was wearing a pair of blue pajamas with silver stars on them. Her top was just a touch too small and her little belly poked out. Most would describe her as a chubby child but every time Erin saw her she was light on her feet like a cat.

“You better sit down and eat before it melts.” Erin said.

“Oh, OK.”

Smiling, Penelope joined her at the table. She grabbed her spoon and dug into the ice cream. She was also looking at Erin. She wore expensive pajamas, maroon and probably silk like the rich ladies on TV.

Her hair was all pinned up but it was still pretty. Even without makeup Erin was still beautiful. The others might have laughed at Penelope if she said so aloud but that didn’t make it untrue. Maybe if she smiled more the others would see it.

“What?” Erin asked, knowing she was being stared at.

“How come you don’t smile more?” Penelope asked.

“I don't know.” Erin lied. “Why would you ask me that?”

“I was just wondering. You're pretty but you don’t smile much. Doesn’t Uncle Dave make you happy?”

“He makes me very happy, Penelope. Everyone is different…some people don’t smile a lot.”

“JJ is kinda like that. It has to be something really funny to make her laugh or smile. She has what I call her “serious serious face” most of the time. But she’s been through hard stuff. Have you been through hard stuff?”

Erin sighed; she wasn’t exactly in the mood to talk about this with a ten year old. It wasn’t as if Penelope didn’t know what loss was. Here she was with no parents. Erin had been through many things but her mother and father were a phone call away. She couldn’t bear the thought losing them…she couldn’t imagine losing them at ten.

“Sure I have.” She replied. “I try not to let it take over my life completely but I guess it has made me smile less.”

“What happened?”

“I lost my best friend.” Erin had no idea why she said it aloud. But no one, child or adult, had ever called her on smiling less. Dave hadn't even done it. She knew he had to know…he knew everything.

“JJ is my best friend. I would be so sad if I lost her. Was it Jason’s mom?”

“Yes.” Erin nodded. “It was a long time ago.”

“Jason still misses her too. I'm sorry, Erin.”

“It’s OK. You were practically a toddler when it happened. Loss happens and you move on.”

“Yeah.” Penelope nodded. She thought about that as she ate her ice cream. “My mom and dad died the same way Jason’s did. I thought I was going to be all alone but then I came here and found another family. Morgan told me his mom used to tell him that when the Lord closes a door somewhere he opens a window. Then they said it in _The Sound of Music_ so it must be true. My new family is my window.”

“That’s a wonderful way of looking at it.” Erin replied.

“Optimism takes less energy than pessimism, that’s what my mom told me. There are so many reasons to be happy. Heck, I'm awake and instead of getting in trouble, I get ice cream.” She grinned.

“Are you enjoying it?”

“Mmm hmm. JJ and Spencer will be ticked they missed this. Not just the ice cream, which is awesome, but you too.”

“Me too?” Erin asked. “What do you mean?”

“Well they don’t see you like I do.”

“How do you see me, Penelope?”

“You're nice. You're smart and you care about Jason. You can't be a mean person if you care about Jason. You do nice stuff for him, and us, and I like you. I don’t care if no one else does…I do.”

She nodded as if that was that and everything else be damned. It made Erin smile. The kid had her own thing going and it made her feel good. For just a few minutes Erin wished for that innocence back.

She wasn’t sure she ever had it but it was a lot of years to think back on. For Penelope to still embrace it after all she’d been through meant there was hope for damn near anyone. Maybe some of that sunny optimism would rub off on Aaron Hotchner. That boy was the most sullen she’d ever seen.

“I'm done.” Penelope smiled in triumph, putting her spoon in the bowl.

“Well you better get to bed. Uncle Dave will be suspicious if you're tired at the Dinosaur Museum tomorrow.”

“Are you coming with us?” Penelope asked, getting up from the chair.

“I don't know. There are a lot of things I need to get done.”

“It’s the weekend; you're ‘spose to have fun. If Uncle Dave won't do FBI stuff, you shouldn’t work either. We’re gonna have fun…and get burgers afterwards. Well, we’ll get burgers if I win rock, paper, scissors. If JJ wins, it might be pizza or something.”

“What about Spencer?” Erin asked.

“What about him?”

“Nevermind.” She smiled some. “Go and get some sleep, Penelope. Sweet dreams.”

“Can I have a hug?”

“What?”

“Can I have a hug? I never go to bed without a hug.”

“Oh…sure.” Erin’s laugh was awkward as she held out her arms. Penelope ran into them as if they were long lost friends who hadn't seen each other in years. Then she kissed her cheek.

“Goodnight, Erin.”

“Goodnight.”

She watched her go upstairs and then she finished her ice cream. The bowls and spoons rinsed, Erin loaded the dishwasher but didn’t turn it on. She turned out the lights, went upstairs, and checked on the kids. Penelope was in bed now, eyes closed, clutching her teddy bear. Erin thought his name was Muddie, which was a strange name for a stuffed animal but Penelope was a strange little girl. JJ and Spencer seemed to be asleep as well.

In her own bedroom, Erin climbed into bed and cuddled with Dave. He sighed, wrapping his arms around her.

“Hey baby.” He mumbled. “Where did you go?”

“I was in the mood for some ice cream. I also found Penelope’s secret hideout.”

“Is she alright?”

“Yeah, I caught her reading under the table. Apparently it’s a thing of hers. That child is quirky, David.”

“I think its part of her charm.”

“I would have to say you're right. I think I’ll join you guys at the Dinosaur Museum tomorrow.”

“Are you sure, baby?”

“Yeah. I've never backed down from a challenge, and all day with kids is definitely a challenge. I'm in the mood for something different.”

“You're definitely gonna get it.” Dave replied. “I'm glad you're coming with us.”

“Me too.” she wasn’t sure if she meant that or not but wouldn’t go back on her word. “I love you, David.”

“I love you too.”

Erin sighed and closed her eyes. There was a chance she could be a mother someday; better to get her apprehensions out of the way now. One day with them surely wouldn’t do it and all kids were different. But this would be a good start. Penelope, Spencer, and JJ were two handfuls and some to spare. If she could handle them, Erin could handle anything.

***

  



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